The pin code week is celebrated every 15th to 21st of January each year in India. This celebration aims to make people aware about the importance of pin code.
When documents are sent to someone or somewhere through the postal department, a small rectangular box containing six partitions to fill in the pin code number of a particular place is attached. This box is usually ignored by the people and left unfilled. But what they don’t know is that the pin code is needed by the postal department and could potentially make their work in sending documents less difficult.
About the Pin Code Week
From the name itself, the pin code week is an entire week of celebration. It involves various awareness programs and camps that aim to educate people about pin codes and their importance. PIN stands for Postal Index Number. It is the word involved with the terms pin code or pin number. The pin is a 6-digit unique number assigned by post offices. It greatly helps post offices deliver letters all over India a lot faster. The pin denotes the real address and makes sure that the letter has arrived at its destination.
Structure of a Pin Code Number
To give you an example of how to decode a pin code, let us take a look at the pin code of one of the regions in Central Delhi: 110060.
- The first digit indicates: northern region = 1
- The second digit indicates: postal circle Delhi = 11
- The third digit indicates: sorting district = 0 (which is central Delhi)
- The last 3 digits indicate: the specific post office (Rajinder Nagar) = 060
Hence, the 6 digit pin code for Rajinder Nagar in Central Delhi, North India is = 110060
How does PIN code work?
For the pin code system of India to work effectively, the entire country was divided into eight PIN zones:
- Number 1 denotes the Northern pin zones such as Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir.
- Number 2 denotes the other Northern pin zones such as Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
- Number 3 denotes the Western pin zones such as Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Number 4 denotes the other Western pin zones such as Maharastra, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
- Number 5 denotes the Southern pin zones such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
- Number 6 denotes the other Southern pin zones such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Number 7 denotes the Eastern pin zones such as Orissa, West Bengal and North Eastern.
- Number 8 denotes the other Eastern pin zones such as Bihar and Jharkand.
In general, the first digit of a pin code indicates the pin zone (state or region), the second and third digits indicate the district where the post office is located, and the next three digits indicates the exact location of the post office where the letter or document was sent.
History Pin Code Week
It was on August 15, 1972 when the pin code system was introduced by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar who was a secretary in the Union Mistry of Communications back then. The purpose of introducing the system was to simply and streamline the manual sorting and delivery of mail, which at that time, was suffering from a lot of anomalies including confusions over incorrect address, names, and varying languages.
On April 1, 1974, the PIN code system was first opened to the public. That time, there were only 3 pin zones: Bengal for the Eastern and Northern regions, Madras for the Southern region, and Bombay for the rest. When India became an independent country, the pin code system got divided into eight zones.
Each pin code represents exactly one delivery post office. This post office is the one that receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its area or jurisdiction. The delivery office can be a General Post Office, a Head Office, or a Sub Office. They are usually located in urban areas.
The post from the delivery office is sorted here. The post is then delivered to the exact delivery office as indicated by the pin. In rural areas with limited postal services, branch offices are located. Hence, the pin code serves as an extremely important piece of information that the postmen use to deliver whatever needs to be delivered to their exact destination.
Pin Code Week Dates
As mentioned earlier, Pin Code Week is celebrated in India every 15th to 21st of January each year.
Why Celebrate Pin Code Week
The following are the main reasons why you should participate in the celebration of Pin Code Week:
To Help Post Offices and their Employees
One good reason why you should participate in this celebration is that by doing so, you can help post offices and their employees make their work a lot less difficult. Pin codes are their guide when it comes to delivering parcels and other items. When people are encouraged to fill up the pin code in their packages, deliverymen can make their deliveries a lot easier.
To Make Deliverables Arrive on Time
When you include the pin code in the thing that you want to get delivered by the post office, you can make the delivery a lot faster. Pin codes can greatly help postmen because it provides the exact location where the parcel should be delivered. Hence, anything that is sent through the post office can be delivered on time or even earlier.
To Influence Other Places
Unfortunately, India is not the only place where people give less importance on pin codes. There are also other countries where pin codes are usually ignored. But if take part in the celebration of this day, you can influence other people in including the pin code in their letters and documents. Your voice can even reach other countries, not only India, especially if you use your social media account.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the pin code week as best as it can be:
Learn the Importance of Pin Code
One good thing you can do for this day is to learn the importance of pin code. The first step in making sure that you enjoy this day is knowing its essence by heart. If you appreciate the importance of using pin codes, you are greatly helped in making your celebration as meaningful as possible.
Inform Other People About the Importance of Pin Code
Knowing the importance of pin codes is not something that you should keep to yourself. It is meant to be shared. You should inform other people about the importance of using pin codes in this week-long celebration. You actually have all the time that you need to influence other people in knowing the importance of using pin codes.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #PinCodeWeek to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day.